Blogs from Australia, Oceania - page 8

Aujourd’hui on va donc visiter pour la 1ère fois Brisbane, capitale du Queensland et 3ème ville d’Australie et la 5ème capitale d’Etat que nous visitons. On chope le train de banlieue de justesse, on saute dans le train sans ticket si ce inquiète un peu Nico mais « no worries mate » !! On se balade dans le centre-ville, la mairie est majestueuse mais on ne peut pas la visiter car en plein travaux depuis 2 ans. Après une visite rapide au petit musée de Brisbane, on entame la promenade à pied conseillée par le Lonely Planet. La traversée de la rue commerçante Queen Street Mall est super, surtout qu’il est midi et que tous les travailleurs sont dehors pour manger. On fait de même, on mange un sandwich au soleil sur un banc. La ... read more

Still optimistic of spotting more turtles we were up walking along the beach at sunrise although the only thing we found was old tracks in the sand, so we headed for an early breakfast. With it being our final day on the island we decided to indulge ourselves in the sunshine and relax for a couple of hours. Unfortunately time passed by far too quickly and it was soon time to join the tour of the research station situated next door to the holiday resort, although they still keep their clocks set to mainland time for working purposes. Set up in 1950 as a hut and a research tank the University of Queensland run site can now accommodate up to 180 guests, including large high school trips. With various tanks and laboratories two key advantages of ... read more

A big week. We’ve driven about 1,000km, stopping overnight in Elliston, Cowell and Hawker. We left the caravan in Hawker, had 2 nights in Arkaroola, and are now back in Hawker. We try not to do overnighters as the aim is to see things, but don’t want to waste time either. From Coffin Bay on the SW tip of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, we drove up the west coast to Elliston. Coffin Bay and Elliston are small seaside communities which grow during the summer, but had a sort of closed down feeling to us. Lots of closed up houses and “shacks” as they call baches over here. Out of season? The coast is a mix of long white sandy beaches and spectacular cliffs. They have made a coastal drive on the cliffs, and have ... read more

Today is the fifteenth of May 2012. There is nothing especially significant about today but it is today, and I suppose there are few more important days. I'm sitting in Sydney airport waiting on my flight to Perth and watching the dregs of my laptop battery dwindle. It is nearly five months since I last wrote a blog post. I've been hidden away in small town Australia working night shifts at a winery, slaving away and selling my soul for the dollar. It never ceases to surprise me how, when all is said and done, when you look back on a time in your life, it is usually the good you focus on. I didn't enjoy my work at Casellas – it was dull, mind-numbing and monotonous, but I don't look back on it as a ... read more